NSW Minister admits more needs to be done for homeless teenagers

TONY EASTLEY: Pru Goward is the New South Wales Minister for Community Services.

Minister, the workers in the sector as you heard say there is a policy black hole when it comes to homeless teens. There is nothing specific for them. What are you doing about it?

PRU GOWARD: Well, that's not quite right. We've just begun a pilot in Hamilton in the Hunter Region which is a pilot that places children or young people, teenagers, in housing on the condition that they attend school or further training, because obviously the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness is having a job.

TONY EASTLEY: That's a pilot. How many people are involved in that?

PRU GOWARD: Well, there's about 40 kids involved in that.

I mean it's very expensive. All of this is very expensive. When parents and families let their kids down, the cost to the community and the state is enormous. But, so that's one thing we're doing.

There's a Red Cross Young Parents program that this young woman was in and we also fund that. And that's the, I think, the only one in New South Wales and it's certainly something I've always thought was very impressive.

Again, it's about breaking that cycle.

TONY EASTLEY: And yet a recent investigation by your state's ombudsman was sharply critical of the lack of services for teenagers in high risk and unsafe circumstances.

PRU GOWARD: Yes, that's true. I mean I can't deny any of this when we've inherited a community services sector that's a bit of a basket case. And unfortunately now we are in very lean times...

TONY EASTLEY: But is it too easy to blame the previous government?

PRU GOWARD: Oh well I think 16 years is long enough for them to have addressed some of these issues. But I'm not denying that we have problems and all of the solutions are expensive.

TONY EASTLEY: But it must be disappointing to see New South Wales homelessness virtually in an intractable position at the moment.

PRU GOWARD: Well, and I think that you've have to say that homelessness across Australia is a serious problem. We are the biggest state so obviously we are going to have the biggest numbers. We are waiting for the new homelessness numbers to come out of the census and they'll be available next month.

TONY EASTLEY: They mightn't be pretty reading. You might be remembered as the minister who oversaw the worst modern period for homelessness in New South Wales.

PRU GOWARD: And if I am, then I have time to fix it. But we are in very difficult financial circumstances. Take the NPAH, the partnership on homelessness, now that was $50 million and we contributed at least half of that funding and the Commonwealth the other half.

We need the Commonwealth to commit to another partnership against homelessness because they too have committed to halving the level of homelessness and it's very difficult for a state government to invest more in shelters and emergency accommodation without the assistance of a much better resourced Commonwealth Government.

But having said that…

TONY EASTLEY: But you can't blame, are you blaming the Federal Government for the problems?

PRU GOWARD: No, I'm saying this is a partnership and if you are going to reduce the levels of homelessness you need an enormous amount of money. We spend $130 million in New South Wales every year on homelessness, on shelters and emergency accommodation.

TONY EASTLEY: Do you need more money?

PRU GOWARD: Well, you would always need more money. But actually does anybody out there think the answer to homelessness is to keep kids of 14, 15, 16 in shelters? As that young woman described, it is no life for any child or teenager.

The real answer is to either when you can get them home and if those homes are unsafe, and often they are, then the answer is to get them into stable accommodation, get them back on a track of learning or training so that they can go on to have jobs and meaningful lives.

TONY EASTLEY: Some of the foster homes don't want the children…

PRU GOWARD: No, they don't.

TONY EASTLEY: …as you heard and I think you remarked on that. But some of these children are ending up in remand centres. That's hardly viable either, is it?

PRU GOWARD: No, I agree.

TONY EASTLEY: So what can you offer the likes of Lilly and others then I suppose?

PRU GOWARD: Well, what we are doing which is we do have a Young Parents Program. And as I say, we're developing new models of care for teenagers that focus on keeping them in education or in training because that is the only answer.

I mean you just can't keep propping kids up in shelters. The outcomes are terrible. They often do end up in juvenile detention or going on to adult prison. That is no answer to this problem.

It's very complex. It's about families and drug addictions that have, for some families, destroyed every child. And one department alone isn't going to fix that.

What we do need I think you know a much more holistic support service wrapping around each of these children and that's expensive.

TONY EASTLEY: Pru Goward, thanks for joining us on AM.

PRU GOWARD: Thank you.

TONY EASTLEY: The New South Wales Minister for Community Services, Pru Goward.

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